SOY, SEIZURES, FLUID RETENTION

I am a 62 year old epileptic.  I have had epilepsy for 60 years.  My seizures have always been under control until 1982/1983.  In 1982 the FDA approved the addition of soy to processed foods in America.  Everytime I eat a food that contains any amount of soy, soybean oil, soy sauce, soy lecithin, or hydrogenated soybean oil I will have a seizure.  I know that soy is estrogen.  It takes about 45 minutes for my body to metablize the soy and cause me to have a seizure.  I had a total hysterectomy in 1988 and I have no progesterone in my system.   I also think that the soy causes my body to retain fluids, and excess fluids in my body will cause me to have seizures.  Is my analysis correct?  Do you have any Neurologists in the Cleveland Clinic that have experience working with patients with epilepsy that are having these kind of problems?    

[Neuro Forum]

Thanks for using the forum. I am happy to address your questions, and my answer will be based on the information you provided here. Please make sure you recognize that this forum is for educational purposes only, and it does not substitute for a formal office visit with your doctor.

As you mention, soy has estrogen-like components, and hormones can have certain effects on seizures. In menstruating women, in general, seizures occur when estrogen levels are high and progresterone levels are low. To my knowledge, there has not be extensive research on soy as a trigger for seizures (though the internet is full with this type of information, well designed clinical research studies are not available to my knowlege in this regard). If you have clearly noticed this as a trigger, then avoiding soy-containing products may be the best way to reduce the triggering of seizures. Other factors that reduce seizure threshold, such as sleep deprivation and excessive alcohol consumption, should also be avoided.

It may benefit you to be evaluated by an epilepsy specialist (a neurologist with specific training in epilepsy) who is also specialized in women health issues. Such as staff are available in various epilepsy centers.

Thank you for this opportunity to answer your questions, I hope you find the information I have provided useful, good luck.

[jebailey]

Thank you for your reply.  I am currently under the care of Dr. Victor Rivera and Dr. Alica Goldman here at the Dept. of Neurology at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas.  Both doctors have ask me to go 30 days with no soy.  Eating is a little rough, because soy is being added to everything.  I am keeping them posted on a weekly basis.  I am just trying to see if there is any other doctor in the US that has a patient with the same symptoms and seizure attacks that I am having.  I have noticed that there is a forum out here for MENOPASE with a Dr. Machelle M. Seibel.  I am going to ask him his opinion of the use of Progerterone in a person like me.